Apple MacBook Air 13-inch

An SD slot and extra USB port fill an important void. Stunningly beautiful design. Bigger battery resulted in almost twice as much battery life as its predecessor. Higher resolution increases the value of the 13-inch screen. Best clickpad implementation, period. Lightest in its class. Zippy wake-from-sleep times. Excellent graphics horsepower.

Features
Adding extra ports to an already thinner frame is both new and startling, since Apple has always been a big proponent of "less is more." The second USB port and an SD slot might seem like "been there, done that" compared with Windows-based ultraportables, but they're game changing for Apple laptops. This essentially means that future 13-inch Apple laptops will be thinner without having to sacrifice ports. The MacBook Air 13-inch now has two USB ports, an SD slot, a mini-Display port, and an audio jack. A slot loading optical drive, or the lack of one, is the only significant feature that divides the family, but is hardly a deal breaker since Apple is making an effort to move away from optical discs. Case in point: The application CDs that came with its predecessors have been replaced by a USB thumbdrive.

There's no Ethernet port either, but many will tell you that a WiFi connection is all you need. If you're internet connectivity requirements are more sophisticated than the average person, the Sony Z1390X and the Dell Vostro V130 have Ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and options for embedded 3G (GSM or CDMA). In terms of storage, your options are flash storage (or SSD) only, which is also the reason why the MacBook Air 13-inch is pricier than the competition; its predecessor came with a spinning HDD and had an upgrade path to a solid-state drive. My configuration came with a 128GB SSD, although a 256GB configuration ($1,599) is available as well. Flash storage is also the reason why Apple was able to emulate the iPad's wake-from-sleep times. The MacBook Air 13-inch can wake from sleep and hibernation modes instantly, a feature Apple appropriately dubs as "instant-on." Off the AC adapter, it can stay in this mode for up to 30 days on a single charge, according to Apple, so shutting down the system completely is no longer necessary. During my testing of the MacBook Air 13-inch, waking from sleep mode was indeed instant, though boot times (from the time I press the power button to when the OS loads) weren't mind-blowingly fast.

Performance
The 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo L9400 processor is underwhelming if you compared it with another laptop running Intel's Core technology. It's based on a previous-generation platform, akin to a brand new car using a two-year-old engine. (But there's a good reason why Apple elected to stay with a Core 2 Duo, which I'll explain later on). Starting with just 2GB of DDR3 memory doesn't help its performance plight either, since every other Windows-based laptop standardizes on 4GB. And upgrading to 4GB on the MacBook Air 13-inch will cost you an extra $100. If your performance demands aren't outrageous, the MacBook Air 13-inch is fast enough to tackle any number of tasks thrown at it. Compared with laptops like the Toshiba R705-P35, Dell V130, and the Sony Z1390X, it takes a lot longer to transcode a video using Handbrake (4:28), run a multithreaded application like Cinebench R11.5 (1.10), or render a photo with Adobe Photoshop CS5 (10:50). However, the differences are negligible when surfing the Web, playing a high-definition movie, or working in Microsoft Office.

Apple resisted the temptation of a Core i3 or Core i5 processor for a reason: It was unwilling to part with Nvidia's integrated graphics solution, which is far better than what Intel has in its graphics arsenal right now (Intel's Core technology restricts third-party integrated graphics solutions). The Nvidia GeForce GT 320M can be a huge asset to experienced gamers and CAD users. If you plan on hooking up a 30-inch external monitor to the laptop, a good graphics chip can help drive the higher resolutions without the stuttering. As expected, the Air's 3DMark 06 scores (5,112 and 4,005) easily topped the Toshiba R705-P35 (1,928 and 1,631) and Dell V130 (1,256 and 1,058), though it couldn't keep up with the Sony Z1390X (6,686 and 3,759). Can it run a game like Crysis (27.4 fps) and Lost Planet 2 (19.3 fps)? Sure, if you play them in medium settings and dial down the eye candy. It did well in an overall performance test like PCMark Vantage (5,701), which stresses the graphics component as well. While running these tests, which push the processor and graphics chip to their brink, the Air remained luke-warm. Our Fluke thermometer registered a reading of 90-95 degrees in the base, which is workable on your lap.

Shrinking the storage unit had another pleasant side effect: It allowed Apple to squeeze in a bigger battery, upping the capacity from 37Wh to 50Wh. We performed two battery tests on the Air 13-inch, one with Windows 7 installed (via Bootcamp) and the other running down a MP4 video file in Mac OS 10.6.5. In Windows, MobileMark 2007 tests reported a battery score of 5 hours 35 minutes; the video rundown wasn't too far behind, lasting 4:55. These two scenarios are more taxing on the battery than tasks like Web surfing and word processing, which should get you in the vicinity of 7 hours, as Apple is reporting. What it scored in MobileMark nearly doubled the amount achieved by its predecessor (3:17) and beat both the Sony Z1390X (5:19) and the Dell V130 (3:01). Against the Toshiba R705-P35 (7:01), however, the Air trailed by an hour and a half.

Conclusion
Instead of giving up on a line that has been seeking redemption for the last two years, Apple turned the MacBook Air 13-inch into a must-have laptop for this holiday season. The extra USB port, an SD slot, and bigger battery addressed the complaints Air users have had for the last two years, yet Apple still found a way to shave some extra fat off the frame. In the process, it offers a glimpse of what to expect from future MacBooks, asserting that the company doesn't need to sacrifice essential features to make its laptops thinner and sexier. Well, the optical drives might have to go, but you can see where the new designs are headed. The only roadblock here is flash storage, as it drives up the overall price of the laptop without the adequate capacity to show for it. But that won't stop the hoard of Mac users from shelling out the money for this 13-inch beauty. For those who are bound by a budget, the Editors' Choice Toshiba Portege R705-P35 doesn't cost nearly as much and is a better overall ultraportable.

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Automatic Renewal Program: Your subscription will continue without interruption for as long as you wish, unless
you instruct us otherwise. Your subscription will automatically renew at the end of the term unless you authorize
cancellation. Each year, you'll receive a notice and you authorize that your credit/debit card will be charged the
annual subscription rate(s). You may cancel at any time during your subscription and receive a full refund on all
unsent issues. If your credit/debit card or other billing method can not be charged, we will bill you directly instead. Contact Customer Service